entry
manifest
/ˈmænəˌfɛst/Clearly visible, understood, or openly displayed
From Latin manus (hand) + Latin festus (solemn).
from Latin manus (“hand”) + an uncertain second element. Doublet of manifesto.
from Latin manifestus "plainly apprehensible, clear, apparent, evident;" of offenses, "proved by direct evidence;" of...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French manifest "evident, palpable," (12c.), or directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French manifest "evident, palpable," (12c.), or directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French manifest "evident, palpable," (12c.), or directly
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin manus (“hand”) + an uncertain second element. Doublet of manifesto.
from Latin manifestus "plainly apprehensible, clear, apparent, evident;" of offenses, "proved by direct evidence;" of...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French manifest "evident, palpable," (12c.), or directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French manifest "evident, palpable," (12c.), or directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French manifest "evident, palpable," (12c.), or directly
+1 more sourcePicture something so obvious that you could almost seize it with your hand: that is the leading intuition behind Latin manifestus, “plainly apprehensible.” Its first element, manus, really does mean “hand,” and it survives in manual, manuscript, and manipulate—the last originally suggesting handling something skillfully. The second element is much shakier: it has been connected with Latin festus, “festive,” but etymologists have not found that explanation convincing, and some suspect manifestus and infestus may not belong together at all. English picked up manifest through Old French in the late fourteenth century, then expanded it into a verb (“to display”) and a shipping noun for a list of cargo or passengers. In July 1845, journalist John L. O’Sullivan helped popularize “manifest destiny,” turning a word about what could be grasped plainly into a grand—and famously controversial—claim about America’s supposedly inevitable future.
The Story
Picture something so obvious that you could almost seize it with your hand: that is the leading intuition behind Latin manifestus, “plainly apprehensible.” Its first element, manus, really does mean “hand,” and it survives in manual, manuscript, and manipulate—the last originally suggesting handling something skillfully. The second element is much shakier: it has been connected with Latin festus, “festive,” but etymologists have not found that explanation convincing, and some suspect manifestus and infestus may not belong together at all. English picked up manifest through Old French in the late fourteenth century, then expanded it into a verb (“to display”) and a shipping noun for a list of cargo or passengers. In July 1845, journalist John L. O’Sullivan helped popularize “manifest destiny,” turning a word about what could be grasped plainly into a grand—and famously controversial—claim about America’s supposedly inevitable future.
Modern Usage
To visualize or wish for something until it supposedly becomes real
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries describing manifesting a desired outcome
Kin & Kindred
From 'manus'·hand
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'festus'·solemn, joyous, festive
Derived Terms
English words from this root